Islamic Charity - Sentencing

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The leader of the U.S. branch of a defunctIslamic charity has been sentenced to nearly three years in prisonafter being convicted of helping to smuggle $150,000 to SaudiArabia. U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan said Tuesday in Eugene, Ore.,that he has no doubt the money went to Islamic fighters battlingthe Russian army in Chechnya. But Hogan said there's no proof directly linking Pete Seda toterrorism, so he wouldn't apply the so-called "terrorismenhancement" that could have sent Seda to prison for eight years. Instead, Hogan sentenced Seda to 33 months in prison. Seda is an Iranian-born U.S. citizen who ran the U.S. chapter ofthe al-Haramain Islamic Foundation based in Ashland, Ore. He was convicted last year of tax fraud and conspiracy todefraud the government.